Evan Turk is an illustrator, author, and animator living in Queens, New York. He specializes in travel illustration, cultural children's books, and concept illustration. For his debut picture book, Grandfather Gandhi, he received both the Ezra Jack Keats and Marion Vannett Ridgway honors for debut illustrator. He was the 2013 nominee from Canson North America for the Canson Prix international competition exhibited at the Petit Palais in Paris. Inspired by his travels to Morocco, his first book as both author and illustrator, The Storyteller, will arrive summer 2016. Evan loves sharing his art and stories and speaks at schools around the country.

Following the Charles W. Morgan's 38th voyage, this project illustrates the symbolic emotional resonance of that voyage. My animated short "Heartbeat" follows the life of a baby whale whose mother was taken during the Morgan's whaling heyday. It continues through our destructive relationship with whales over the decades, and into a more hopeful and compassionate future. The collage piece "Pilgrimage – Ship of Prayers" symbolically continues the Morgan's journey as a symbol of compassion, empathy, and hope across the globe. With prayers from around the world to fill its sails, it acts as a gateway for communication between whales and humans, between humans and other humans, and between the past, present, and future.